No changes to crosswalk

Municipal council will not change the crosswalks on Rosedale Avenue near Main Street, despite a request to add another marked crosswalk.

At the municipal council meeting on Monday, council voted to keep the intersection as it is.

Earlier, Dave Simpson had submitted a petition to council, with more than 1,500 names asking for a crosswalk to be added at Main Street and Rosedale Avenue.

At present, there are marked crosswalks in place nearby, but not directly at the intersection.

“People are trained to cross at an intersection,” Simpson said. “Whether or not you mark it as a crosswalk, it’s going to be used.”

Acting administrator Ken Ostraat said the intersection is an unmarked legal crossing, but the safest places to cross Rosedale Avenue are at the marked crosswalks.

Mayor Janice Perrino said adding a marked crosswalk would also mean the municipality would have to close the vehicle drop-off area in front of the medical building, since the drop-off area would interfere with a crosswalk.

She added that the safety of the intersection is also a concern.

“I want people to be as safe as possible,” she said.

Coun. Martin Van Alphen said the loss of the drop-off area would outweigh any benefits from an additional marked crosswalk.

“The pullout at the building is necessary,” he said. “With a crosswalk, we’d lose that.”

Coun. Peter Waterman said the petition needs to be considered.

“I’m not about to ignore 1,500 people who have a difficulty with this issue,” he said.

A resolution to leave the crosswalk unchanged was approved, with Waterman opposed. Coun. Bruce Hallquist was not present at the meeting.